does yoda have a speech impediment

An Unusual Way of Speaking, Yoda Has

When Luke Skywalker first encounters Yoda, it’s on a swampy planet in The Empire Strikes Back . At first, Luke doesn’t realize the long-eared, wrinkly green creature is, in fact, the one he’s seeking.

“I’m looking for someone,” Luke says.

“Looking?” Yoda replies. “Found someone, you have, I would say, hmmm?”

There’s a narrative effect to the way Yoda speaks. To an English speaker, anyway, the way he orders his sentences sounds vaguely riddle-like, which adds to his mystique.

But what’s actually going on with Yoda, linguistically? First, let’s examine how Yoda doesn’t speak. Many of the world’s most-spoken languages—English, Mandarin—are built around constructions that go subject-verb-object. An example would be: Yoda grasped the lightsaber.

Another common construction, and one you’d find more commonly among speakers of Japanese, Albanian, and many other languages, goes subject-object-verb: Yoda the lightsaber grasped. More rare is a verb-subject-object construction, but that’s how people who speak Hawaiian and some Celtic languages do it: Grasped Yoda the lightsaber. Even more unusual is the way Yoda famously speaks, ordering his sentences object-subject-verb, or OSV: The lightsaber Yoda grasped. Or, to use an example from an actual Yoda utterance: “Much to learn, you still have.”

“This is a clever device for making him seem very alien,” said Geoff Pullum, a professor of linguistics at the University of Edinburgh. “You have to do some work to realize that his, ‘Much to learn, you still have,’ means ‘You still have much to learn.’” There are other fictional examples of characters who speak like Yoda. Bowyer, from the 1996 Super Nintendo game, Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars, says things like, “Fun this is, yes?” and “Disturb me, you must not! Practicing I am.” But what about in the real world? “Surprisingly, there are a very few languages—it seems to be in single digits—that use OSV as their basic or normal order,” Pullum told me. “As far as I know, they occur only in the area of Amazonia in Brazil: they are South American Indian languages. One well-described case is a language called Nadëb.”

Looking more closely at how Yoda speaks, it’s not always object-subject-verb, but sometimes a construction Pullum once referred to as XSV, the “X” being a stand-in for whatever chunk of the sentence goes with the verb, even if it’s not an object. So, for example: “Truly wonderful, the mind of a child is,” as Yoda says in Episode II: Attack of the Clones . Truly wonderful, in that case, is the “X.” Pullum, in a blog post in 2005, called this construction “fantastically rare” in the real world.

“The curious feature of Yoda’s syntax that some linguists have commented on is that, although it is by no means consistent, he seems to speak as if he thinks OSV [or XSV] is normal,” Pullum told me. “In fact, he generalizes it, favoring the beginning of the sentence for various modifiers and complements that English syntax would normally leave till the end of the clause.”

Consider for example: “When 900 years old you reach, look as good, you will not.” But then there are other facets of Yoda-speak, times when he leaves auxiliary verbs—various forms of be, do, and have—dangling, as he does in a phrase like, “Lost a planet, Master Obi-Wan has.”

And then there are the times when Yoda speaks in regular old subject-verb-object constructions. (“A Jedi must have the deepest commitment, the most serious mind.”) Pullum says these inconsistencies make for an “odd mix,” though others have been less forgiving. Writing for The New Yorker in 2005, Anthony Lane had this to say of Yoda’s “screwy” syntax: “Break me a fucking give.” A funny line, timing-wise, but, as the linguist Mark Liberman pointed out at the time, not actually all that Yoda-esque. (“A fucking break, give me,” was one more Yoda-ish alternative offered in a blog post Liberman wrote on the subject at the time.)

Looking more closely at Yoda, and particularly at his dialogue in Episode III: Revenge of the Sith , further confused Liberman, who analyzed dozens of Yoda’s lines in the film. “A bit of empirical investigation has left me more puzzled about Yoda’s syntax than I was before,” he wrote. (Most perplexing, he said, was an example of a fronted element—the sort of clause that you might bring to the start of a sentence for emphasis—found between the subject and predicate: “That group back there, soon discovered will be.”) Liberman has said it would take a larger dataset to fully analyze Yoda-speak, but he won’t get it from the latest film (spoiler alert): Yoda’s a no-show.

Yoda-speak gets even more confusing, to me anyway, when you try to translate it from English. In Estonian versions of the films, according to one fascinating Reddit thread about linguistics, Yoda retains the word order used in English versions. “This is grammatical in Estonian, but does make it seem as though Yoda is constantly stressing the object phrase as the main point of his statements,” according to one commenter. “This gives his speech an unusual quality.” But in Czech translations, rather than speaking in his general object-subject-verb manner, Yoda apparently speaks in subject-object-verb (like in Japanese).

Really, though, Yoda was written for an English-speaking audience. And, as James Harbeck pointed out in an article for The Week last year, there are plenty of examples from popular literature that sound just as offbeat syntactically as Yoda, even if they're not identical in construction. There’s Walt Whitman (“Ever-returning spring, trinity sure to me you bring”), and Shakespeare (“For them the gracious Duncan have I murdered”), and whoever wrote the lyrics to “The Little Drummer Boy” (“Come, they told me, the newborn king to see”). “These sentences remind us of Yoda-style things we can do in poetry and other stylized forms,” Harbeck wrote. “And that's the thing about Yoda-speak: We understand it. It is comprehensible English because it is written by English speakers, for English speakers, using things you can do in English.”

To appreciate Yoda, maybe it’s best to abandon one’s grammatical senses altogether—or, you know, “unlearn what you have learned.” Like the little guy says, “Do. Or do not. There is no try.”

Star Wars Fan Theory Explains Why Yoda Speaks Differently

There's a good chance that you couldn't quote your high school English teacher to save your life, but there's a Yoda (Frank Oz) quote that lives rent-free in your head. A big reason for this is the whacked-out way in which the diminutive Jedi master delivers his dialogue. Yoda's backward manner of speech remains a distinct characteristic of the beloved "Star Wars" hero that has nevertheless been shrouded in mystery. But some fans believe they've cracked the code as to the origins of Yoda's unique speech pattern. 

On Reddit, one user shared their theory, saying, "Yoda speaks the way he does because he so old that the rules of grammar are different from when he was younger. Correct way to speak in his day, this was." Some argued against it, such as  u/PocketBuckle , who believed that Yoda only spoke this way to Luke in "The Empire Strikes Back" to fool the young Jedi into believing he wasn't as powerful as he actually was, but it ended up sticking to future depictions of the character. "I honestly think [George] Lucas forgot how he originally intended the character, so he wrote each later iteration as a more and more Flanderized version of itself," they commented. 

Some may also argue that Yaddle, a female of Yoda's species introduced in "The Phantom Menace," doesn't talk like him , as can be seen in "Tales of the Jedi," where she speaks with a normal speech pattern. However, given that Yaddle is much younger than Yoda, it makes sense that her style of speaking has evolved from Yoda's time, much in the same way that the English language itself has taken shape over the years. 

George Lucas and Frank Oz have their own explanations

Abundant theories exist regarding Yoda's mysterious manner of speaking. Given the character's iconography, the creators of the small but mighty Jedi master are no strangers to getting asked this question and have their own reasons for the unique creative decision.

According to an interview with George Lucas in the Paul Duncan book "Star Wars Archives. 1977-1983," the filmmaker created the quirky speech pattern as a way of keeping Yoda's bizarre alien origins intact while having the audience in mind. "I didn't want to go through a whole movie where everybody's reading subtitles, he had a lot of dialogue," Lucas explained. "So I had to come up with a language that was alien but still understandable, so I reversed everything around. The language was designed to make you focus on the boring philosophical lessons." It's safe to say that this tactic worked, as Yoda's many moments of enlightenment remain ingrained into the minds of viewers who grew up watching the original "Star Wars" trilogy. 

This key characteristic was brought into discussion when Dave Filoni and company were preparing to give Yaddle her speaking debut in "Tales of the Jedi," where she is voiced by Bryce Dallas Howard. However, in an interview with Nerdist , Filoni recalled a conversation he had with Yoda's original voice actor and puppeteer, Frank Oz , whose reasoning behind Yoda's speech isn't far off from the aforementioned fan theory. "Frank Oz told me once that Yoda speaks that way specifically in honor of his own master," Filoni shared. "That was what he had thought about it. I try to keep moving forward [with] these thoughts." Yoda may be a Jedi, but few can argue that Oz is the master when it comes to official word on the character's backstory.

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Why does Yoda speak the way he does?

Yoda's unique speech consisting of reversed grammar is iconic.

Is there any reason he has adopted this speech pattern?

All other alien species encountered seem to have no trouble speaking normally. Why does Yoda speak in this way?

• 53 Know the answer, I don't –  Eregrith Commented Feb 14, 2012 at 9:25
• 5 Answer in here scifi.stackexchange.com/questions/10971/… –  Kurt Commented Feb 14, 2012 at 10:12
• 33 "Many tourists to Dagobah, we do not get. Every trick to keep them entertained, we need to pull." - Yoda. –  Reinstate Monica - Goodbye SE Commented Feb 14, 2012 at 10:16
• 37 When nine hundred years old you reach, speak as well you will not. Hmm? –  Kyle Jones Commented Feb 14, 2012 at 10:24
• 6 English is SVO (Subject-Verb-Object) word order; Yoda's native language would seem to be OSV (Object-Subject-Verb) order, and he continues to use the more familiar ordering -- since he's always understood, he probably never saw reason to force himself to use the more (to him) alien-sounding SVO word-order of English. –  LindaJeanne Commented Sep 3, 2015 at 18:01

3 Answers 3

Out of universe, his strange syntax has a high symbolism of Yoda's personality; he always put action last. This fits well with the old master and hermit guru archetypes.

In universe, we don't know much about Yoda's species mostly because " George Lucas maintains a strict policy of keeping the history, name, origin, and whereabouts of this species secret ".

From Yoda's Wookieepedia article :

Yoda spoke an unusual version of Basic. He usually tended to place verbs (especially auxiliaries) after the object and subject (an object-subject-verb format). An example of Yoda's speech pattern: "When nine hundred years old you reach, look as good you will not." Most agreed that this pattern of speech was convoluted, and while it seems as though others of his species (e.g. Yaddle ) had the same penchant for rearranging sentences, not all of them did (e.g. Vandar Tokare ).

So, since others (but not all) of his species speak this way, it's probably a cultural matter.

• 76 Fun fact - this is how Latin is organized, generally, with the verb at the end of the sentence. Fac vel non fac... "attempta" ibi non est. –  Chris B. Behrens Commented May 2, 2012 at 16:52
• 8 @ChrisB.Behrens: There aren't enough +1s for that comment. –  Tynam Commented Feb 5, 2013 at 23:53
• 2 I don't know where I read this this, or saw this, or dreamt this (LOL!) but I remember something about Yoda's gramatical speech to emulate the Japanese language which follows this pattern. Something about the whole Samurai/Jedi connection. This may be totally wrong, but I do remember hearing it somewhere. –  MikeV Commented Oct 30, 2014 at 20:14
• 1 Japanese is mostly subject object verb whereas yoda speaks mostly object subject verb. –  Escoce Commented Dec 17, 2015 at 15:25
• 2 @Escoce Latin too, for that matter. Latin doesn’t rely on word order for grammar (aside from putting adjectives next to the words they modify and prepositional phrases together), so any order is possible, but subject object verb was more-or-less the conventional ordering. –  KRyan Commented Feb 4, 2016 at 21:56

Presumably, English (or the equivalent in the Star Wars universe), isn't the first language of Yoda's species.

Speakers of 2nd and 3rd languages to their mother tongue often struggle, sometimes permanently, adjusting to new grammatical conventions in other tongues.

Many, just as we see with immigrant populations on earth, adjust well and manage to speak fluently like natives. Other individuals will learn just enough to get by and never bring their language level past a certain level of polish.

Presumably, when Yoda was learning the language, it wasn't done in a setting that focused on grammar and proper syntax. Perhaps he learned it by ear, or taught it to himself in isolation.

• 3 More specifically, people often learn the words, but stick with aspects of the grammar of their first language, like the word order. –  SQB Commented Feb 11, 2014 at 12:02
• 2 I'd always assumed this was the reason. That and coupled with his age and how languages evolve over time could cause confusion when keeping up with different languages –  gabe3886 Commented Jul 17, 2015 at 10:53

Per Dave Filoni (quoting Frank Oz), Yoda's method of speech is an affectation , rather than his usual mode of speech, noting that another member of his species (Yaddle) speaks normally

“Does she speak backwards? I’m like, ‘No, I don’t think so. I think that’s a Yoda thing. Frank Oz told me once that Yoda speaks that way specifically in honor of his own master. That was what he had thought about it. I try to keep moving forward these thoughts. And Bryce on her own made a great Yaddle.” DAVE FILONI ON CASTING BRYCE DALLAS HOWARD AS YADDLE IN TALES OF THE JEDI

The implication here is that Yoda is perfectly capable of speaking Basic with the correct syntax, but for his own reasons chooses not to.

This is confirmed in the (canon) Yoda #7 . He can speak Basic perfectly well.

• 1 A possible inspiration: the evil Voltamen in The Lost World (long-running serial in Planet Comics ) also spoke English with a weird word order (which one reader suggested was based on Latin): "OUR GLADIATORS NO FEAR HAVE...THEY THE BEAST NOW CHARGE...BUT LOOK...OUR MEN FALL...MYSTERIOUS POWER THE BEAST HAS...OUR SHIPS FOR LAUNCHING PREPARE." - Planet Comics #57, Nov. 1948 –  user14111 Commented Nov 21, 2022 at 2:30

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Star Wars: Why Does Yoda Talk the Way He Does?

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When Luke Skywalker accepts his mission to avenge his father and be trained as a Jedi Knight, his Master’s speech is rather unique. Throughout the Star Wars franchise, the only person to speak like Master Yoda is Master Yoda . Across the galaxy, only two more creatures like Yoda exist (at least so far). When Anakin Skywalker was just a Padawan, he met Jedi Master Yaddle, who was on the Jedi Council with Yoda. The Mandalorian, sometime after Luke had become a recluse, was hired to rescue an infant who turned out to be named Grogu.

Though Yoda, Yaddle, and Grogu are the same species, they are not necessarily related. At this point, Yoda and Yaddle are the only ones of their species that we've seen talk, as Grogu is an infant. In Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi , Bryce Dallas Howard voices Yaddle, confirming that Yoda’s unique form of communication is entirely his own. At this point in the Star Wars saga, the species these three belong to is shrouded in mystery, specifically in regard to syntax. Yoda’s speech leads audiences to believe he is wise based on his aged appearance and peculiar speech pattern. But the question still remains: why does Yoda talk the way he does?

Yoda’s Speech Pattern

Consider other species in the Star Wars universe who do not speak standard English. For example, Chewbacca, a Wookie, speaks in a series of growls and howls, whereas the Jawas and Tusken Raiders speak their own respective languages despite being human or human-like beings. Language and its subsequent elements like development, semantics, and syntax give insight into a culture and its history. According to The Atlantic , language is structured by subject, verb, and object. Yoda’s speech structure is object-subject-verb, or OSV, which adds into the mystery of his species and makes him more alien.

While fans clamor over what is canon and whether Darth Vader is scarier than Darth Maul, one thing is for certain: many fans were intrigued by Yoda’s syntax during his premiere. This initial reaction to the way Yoda spoke was well accepted. Yoda was the first character of his kind, so his speech pattern, like Wookies or Jawas, seemed unique to his species. Since his debut, he is regarded as one of the wisest characters in the entire saga. His wisdom is derived from his speech structure and has inspired countless lists of affirming quotes.

Related: Star Wars: Studio Ghibli's Animated Baby Yoda Short Debuts on Disney Plus

Jedi Master Yaddle and Grogu’s Speech Patterns

The excitement that preceded Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace was met with much disdain. Except for the introduction of one character: Jedi Master Yaddle. With the Jedi Council being an integral part of Episodes 1-3 , fans were anxious to see if the OSV speech Yoda used was innate to his species. But Jedi Master Yaddle was just present, no lines or indication that she shared Yoda’s speech pattern. The first woman-appearing of her species, and it took practically 20 years for a limerick of confirmation: Yaddle speaks more commonly, with subject-object-verb structure, making Yoda even more mysterious.

As fans learn more about Yaddle via the Disney+ series, Tales of the Jedi , the question of their species still lingers. The answers, hopefully, will be revealed with Grogu . When The Mandalorian debuted a baby, it’s safe to assume no one was expecting the baby to be half a century old! Grogu being an infant at 50, the equivalent of midlife for humans, left fans with more questions about the species than answers. With regard to Grogu’s speech, he babbles much like a human baby does. With Grogu then, it would be safe to assume that his speech is going to be similar to Yaddle’s SOV pattern. Therefore, Yoda’s OSV speech is entirely his own unique form of English.

Related: Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi: Who is Master Yaddle?

George Lucas’ Own Words

According to her , Yoda’s character design is based on the genius Albert Einstein. Not only does this add to his mystique as a wizened sage, but it could also explain why he speaks in a specific way. Famously, Einstein didn’t speak full sentences until he was five years old, yet was one of the greatest minds the world has known. In fact, an economist coined the phrase Einstein Syndrome to help explain this phenomenon. Just as the inspiration for Yoda’s design is known, George Lucas himself has spoken on why Yoda speaks the way he does. In this video from Star Wars Theory , the narrator quotes Lucas’ reasoning for Yoda’s speech. Essentially, Lucas’ creation of characters and their languages was to take other languages' syntax and make them sound alien. With Yoda in particular, he flipped the syntax around and made it as understandable as possible to understand. Lucas’ intention was for audiences to focus on the philosophical lessons rather than trying to decipher another alien species’ language.

Why Does Yoda Speak Backward in Star Wars?

Theories About Yoda's Peculiar Syntax

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No official Star Wars source has ever answered the question of why Yoda speaks backward. One possible explanation is that his speech patterns are simply how his species talks. The lack of evidence makes it difficult to prove or disprove this theory.

Do Other Members of Yoda's Species Talk Like He Does?

In the entire Expanded Universe , we only see four examples of Yoda's species: Yoda himself; Yaddle, the "female Yoda" who appears in the Prequel Trilogy; Minch, from a short story in "Star Wars Tales;" and Vandar Tokare, from "Knights of the Old Republic."

Yaddle and Minch have speech patterns similar to Yoda, but Vandar Tokare's speech sounds like typical, unaccented Basic. Is the difference merely a separation in time, since "Knights of the Old Republic" takes place four thousand years before the Prequels?

Difference in Language Structure

Another explanation is a difference in language. Yoda's syntax resembles that of a non-native English speaker who imports sentence structures from his native language. This could explain why Vandar Tokare doesn't have the same speech patterns if he was raised speaking a different language. Still, Yoda is 900 years old. Certainly, he's spoken Basic long enough to learn the rules of the language .

Does He Just Want People to Pay Attention to What He Says?

In "Fate of the Jedi: Backlash" by Aaron Allston, Ben Skywalker provides a theory from a different angle: "After nine hundred years, [Yoda] was sick of hearing the same old things the same old way. Use the same old cliché phrases too long and people stop hearing their message." Luke finds this explanation plausible, and it fits best with what we know of Yoda's speech patterns.

Oddities in Yoda's Syntax

Language Log points out several discrepancies in Yoda's backward speech: while he will often order sentences as Object-Subject-Verb ("Around the survivors a perimeter create"), he also switches entire phrases ("When nine hundred years old you reach, look as good you will not"), splits verbs ("Begun, the Clone War has"), and sometimes even uses a normal word order ("War does not make one great").

This odd mix of syntax offers more support for the idea that Yoda's just doing this intentionally. He wants people to hear his message, as Ben hypothesizes, and uses whatever phrasing will make them listen. On the other hand, this explanation fails to explain why other members of Yoda's species speak backward as well.

The Mysteries of Yoda

We may never get an official answer for why Yoda talks backward. George Lucas has purposely shrouded the character in mystery - his species doesn't even have a name. All we can know for certain is that Yoda's strange speech patterns, no matter why they exist, are a memorable and iconic part of the Star Wars films .

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Why so strangely Yoda speaks

Hear something odd in his syntax, you do

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Let's examine one of the great classic problems in linguistics: Yoda. And how he talks.

Yoda? Know him you do, surely. The great Jedi master he is! The little green Jedi master he also is. And speak in backwards sentences he does.

OK, that last statement isn't really true. The sentences aren't completely backwards. He doesn't say "Him to you take will I"; he says "Take you to him I will." What's more, not all his sentences are like this. Actually only about half are, depending on the movie; the rest are in normal English word order.

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What language does Yoda speak? The answer to this is surprisingly clear: It's English (duh). In all five of the movies he's in, he speaks only English. This is not to say that he doesn't speak any other language, but we actually don't have any evidence he does. He could be a monolingual speaker of the kind of English he speaks. There are dialects of English that are more different from the Queen's English than Yoda's is.

What's more, if Yoda's native language is not English, we can't infer any details of it from how he speaks English. The fact that he shows a stylistic quirk in English doesn't mean that he brought it over from another language. He may have, but he may just like the structure of that way of speaking. After all, he only sometimes uses the "reversed" word order — which means when he does, he probably does it by choice. He could easily have picked it up from English. After all, the people who wrote him did.

Let's look at a few characteristic sentences of Yoda English:

Nothing more will I teach you today.

Size matters not.

Anger, fear, aggression; the dark side of the Force are they.

If once you start down the dark path, forever will it dominate your destiny, consume you it will, as it did Obi-Wan's apprentice.

For 800 years have I trained Jedi. My own counsel will I keep on who is to be trained!

Much to learn you still have.

When 900 years old you reach, look as good you will not.

Lost a planet Master Obi-Wan has.

Now let's look at some bits of English that do not come from Yoda, but sound like they could have:

Round about the cauldron go; in the poison entrails throw.

Else the Puck a liar call.

For them the gracious Duncan have I murdered.

I like him not.

Come, they told me, the newborn king to see.

Ever-returning spring, trinity sure to me you bring.

Of your father I won't even speak.

The first four are from Shakespeare. The fifth is from a well-known Christmas song (with "pa-rum-pa-pum-pum" removed; thanks to Arnold Zwicky for that example). The sixth is from Walt Whitman. The last is from The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz by Mordecai Richler, and it shows a characteristic turn of phrase in Yiddish-influenced English.

These sentences remind us of Yoda-style things we can do in poetry and other stylized forms. We can put not at the end ("I like him not") rather than attach it to the auxiliary do ("I don't like him"); this used to be standard English. We can move the verb to before the subject ("Duncan have I murdered"). We can put the conjugated verb at the end — which was standard in dependent clauses in Old English (and still is in German). And most importantly, we can bring stuff from the end to the front, as Yoda does.

When you bring a later part of the sentence to the beginning, it's called fronting . You can front just a noun or prepositional phrase — "Jackets we hang here, ties we pile over there"; "The life of Riley, you live"; "For $5 you came here?" — or you can front a verb with it as well, as long as you keep a conjugated verb (such as an auxiliary do or have or will ) at the end — "Likes it hot, he does"; "Park in my spot, will he?" Sometimes we even leave off the verb at the end, when we start with a shortened sentence and then clarify: "Makes a lot of money, your friend?"

Why do we front things? To put key information first. Perfunctory bits can wait till the end. Perhaps when 900 years old you are, do this you will also, as dead you may be before finish the sentence you will. Going with this, Yoda typically keeps the conjugated verb at the end — maybe because 900 years ago that's what we normally did in subordinate clauses in English — and puts the not at the end — because, again, it's old-style and more direct.

And why not? What would you do if you wanted something that sounds a little quirky and exotic and appropriate to a wise Jedi master who happens to be a two-foot-high green gremlin-like creature with the voice of Miss Piggy? Why not draw on archaic and poetic forms, and also on colloquial forms and some turns of phrase associated with Yiddish-influenced English, which is stereotyped as knowing and witty?

Because remember: Yoda didn't write his own lines. He is a character in five movies written by several different screenwriters. In Yoda-Speak: A Study of Yoda's Speaking Patterns and Their Frequencies , Michael Kaminsky gives a detailed run-down of how Yoda's speech varies from movie to movie — and screenwriter to screenwriter. So you have different versions of Yoda's speech; sometimes, for instance, the pronoun comes before the verb ("Received a coded message we have"), sometimes after ("Heard from no one have we"). But somehow they all manage to adhere more or less to a recognizable, comprehensible style.

And that's the thing about Yoda-speak: We understand it. It is comprehensible English because it is written by English speakers, for English speakers, using things you can do in English. If we were to put the words in the order you'll get them in even some of English's closest neighbor languages, it would be much stranger and harder to understand:

Is planet lost at Master Obi-Wan. (Gaelic)

I not you will-teach more today. (French)

I will my own counsel on them, who trained become, keep. (German)

In some other languages, you couldn't even do word-for-word — you might get just one or two words with a lot of prefixes and suffixes. And in extraterrestrial languages? All bets are off.

But Yoda speaks English.

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James Harbeck is a professional word taster and sentence sommelier (an editor trained in linguistics). He is the author of the blog Sesquiotica and the book Songs of Love and Grammar .

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The Mandalorian May Have Finally Explained Yoda’s Weird Way of Speaking

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The Jedi's Downfall Was Foreshadowed in a Surprising Piece of Star Wars Lore

Is james mangold’s dawn of the jedi film too big of a risk for star wars, 10 scariest star wars villains, ranked.

WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Star Wars: The Mandalorian "Chapter 13: The Jedi," streaming now on Disney+ .

More than one huge revelation happened in The Mandalorian 's, "Chapter 13: The Jedi," with the most emotional reveals coming from quiet scenes between Ahsoka Tano and the Child. Brought at last to someone who can "hear" him through shared Force-sensitivity, the Child is finally able to give his name . Though he's wordless, Ahsoka reveals to Din Djarin that Grogu is capable of a different kind of speech, which might answer a long-standing question about Jedi Master Yoda's way of speaking.

Yoda's stilted grammar is part of the character's legacy, sometimes played for laughs and sometimes revealing wit and wisdom in the backwards-seeming cadence. His words are ordered differently than most real world human languages, structured as object-subject-verb in order to give him a deeper alien aspect. It's a technique that's been discussed and lauded by linguists since his first appearance on the screen.

RELATED:  The Mandalorian FINALLY Reveals Baby Yoda's REAL Name & Backstory

But Grogu's interactions with Ahsoka add a new layer to the discussion of Yoda's linguistic patterns. Grogu is already around fifty years old and still non-verbal, yet he's able to communicate with Ahsoka through the Force in a way that cuts through his cute toddler burbles. She clarifies that it's not language as Din Djarin knows it, which leaves questions about the nature of their conversation.

Though it's implied that Grogu is still carrying heavy trauma from the Jedi Purge, it doesn't seem like he's lacking the ability to learn a verbal language. Instead, it seems to be a natural part of who Grogu is — an alien being that spends long years as a child even as parts of his mind flourish with the potential of the Force. Rather than communication through speech, the Force might be guiding him through the concepts and emotions woven into the fabric of life. All of physical existence around him is defined by the way Grogu senses their shapes through the Force.

RELATED: The Mandalorian Owes Us Baby Yoda's School Adventures

It's a peculiar, mystic way of thinking, and it's not one that translates easily. The telepathic impressions that two Jedi share with each other, with all the emotional layers and nuance and silent thrums of the galaxy's energy passing between them, already rely on deep meditation that helps them be one with the Force. To explain it to someone that can't sense the Force would be as difficult as accurately translating Japanese to English. Though direct translation is possible, the nature of the language itself carries cultural nuances that are lost unless the translator understands the deepest roots of the language.

Because Grogu seems to have this long silence and incubation within the Force, it suggests that Yoda himself also might not have been verbal for decades or more, which may explain his speech cadence. This is because the longer one lives without a verbal language makes it more difficult to begin learning one.

It's equally likely that the need for speech may not be inherent to the species at all. If it's something that must be learned late, it's no wonder that their kind adopt a uniquely stilted dialogue, and perhaps the way the Force is perceived shaped Yoda's linguistics. The Force perceives all of physical existence, then shapes the self or the individual. So when translating the Force to speech, he speaks of the object first, then the subject, and then verbs are added, the parts of the sentence someone who perceives through the Force would have the most trouble articulating.

RELATED: The Mandalorian: What Ahsoka Tano Is Doing on Corvus (& How It Ties to Star Wars Rebels)

Grogu, far in the future, might try to tell someone about the day he met and was tested by a Jedi. If the above theory is close, he might describe it like this: "The shining ball Grogu summoned. The Force around Ahsoka Tano warmed. A smile she gave Grogu, though doubts she felt."

It's unknown if Grogu will ever speak aloud in The Mandalorian . If he does, his first words will be the key to understanding Yoda's dialect. But the theory that the Force is part of Grogu and Yoda species' inherent method of communication makes a lot of sense. Of all the races in Star Wars , Yoda seems the most connected with the natural mysticism of the Force. While Grogu's path will be his own, it's already marked with that same wordless power.

Created by Jon Favreau, The Mandalorian stars Pedro Pascal, with guest stars Gina Carano, Carl Weathers, Horatio Sanz and Giancarlo Esposito. Directors for the new season include Jon Favreau, Dave Filoni, Bryce Dallas Howard, Rick Famuyiwa, Carl Weathers, Peyton Reed and Robert Rodriguez.

KEEP READING:  Star Wars: The Mandalorian Season 2, Episode 5, 'The Jedi,' Recap & Spoilers

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Tales of the Jedi's Yaddle story just created a huge new Yoda mystery

Yaddle's appearance may have answered what happened to her, but it also raises a big question about her fellow Jedi.

Tales of the Jedi is all about fleshing out the prequel era of Star Wars. We see Ahsoka’s childhood and some overlooked parts of her post-Order 66 life, and a more detailed look at Padmé Amidala’s funeral. But one of the most exciting revelations is the fate of Yaddle in Episode 4, “The Sith Lord.”

While this story finally gave the former Jedi Council member her moment in the spotlight, it makes Yoda’s existence all the more confusing — and could affect Grogu’s future.

When Yaddle spoke, she sounded normal. Unlike Yoda’s strange dialect that inverts the subject/predicate structure, Yaddle sounds like every other Jedi. It’s long been assumed that Yoda’s speech pattern was a quirk of his species, but this proves otherwise.

So why does Yoda speak so differently? There are three notable theories. First, maybe Yoda has a speech impediment that makes him process language differently. It clearly doesn’t get in the way of being a respected Jedi master, but is just a different way of talking.

Yaddle in Tales of the Jedi .

Another explanation has to do with the Jedi recruitment tactic. Because potential Jedi are generally taken from their families at a young age, maybe Yaddle was raised on Coruscant and adopted the Galactic Standard method of speaking. Yoda, however, could have been taken from his home planet at an older age, which would have left him with the dialect of where he was raised.

Or maybe Yoda is simply from a part of his planet that speaks differently. Our world has hundreds of languages and dialects, so it seems safe to assume that Yoda’s does too. Maybe he’s from a region with that linguistic quirk. It could be one of his society’s oldest and most respected dialects, or he could be the Star Wars equivalent of a valley girl.

Grogu is probably going to talk like Yaddle, not Yoda.

Yaddle’s speech pattern may not seem important, but a very big (and very small) character is affected by it. If Yaddle speaks normally, it’s likely Grogu will too. After some time with the Jedi he’s being raised by Din Djarin, so as far as we know he’s only been around conventional language patterns. He’s still a babbling baby, but as he grows up we may start to see him speak, and he will presumably sound more like Yaddle than Yoda.

Granted, Grogu ages so slowly that it may take decades within the Star Wars galaxy for anyone to converse with him. But with this 11-minute glimpse at a background character, everything we know about their species has changed. Thank you for your service, Yaddle.

Tales of the Jedi is now streaming on Disney+.

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How to Have a Great Conversation With Just About Anyone

By Josh Smith

Over the course of his career as a journalist and podcast host, Josh Smith has had in-depth chats with everyone from Jodie Foster to Jessica Gunning, despite spending much of his childhood too afraid to speak due to a speech impediment. Now, he’s condensed the lessons that helped him morph into a confident professional interviewer into Great Chat , a self-help guide to having better conversations—and improving your wellbeing in the process.

Look around you today, and it’s increasingly obvious that we’ve lost the ability to converse. You flirt with someone on a dating app for weeks—even months—only to meet them in real life and find they have no chat at all. You watch your friends’ lives play out on social media rather than carving out time to catch up in person. As for your relationships with your coworkers? How many times a day do you find yourself saying: “You’re on mute.”

It’s little wonder that loneliness is increasingly becoming a problem. One in four adults now feels very or fairly lonely, and we have fewer friends on average than we did 30 years ago. The World Health Organisation has declared loneliness a global health threat, while the US surgeon general has compared the associated health risks of loneliness with that of smoking 15 cigarettes a day. Clearly, it’s time for us all to remind ourselves of the value of simply having a chat with each other.

I know firsthand how transformative mastering the art of conversation can be. As a child growing up in a tiny village in the middle of nowhere, I had a speech impediment, which—coupled with the realization that I was gay—brought on plenty of anxiety and bullying. It’s only after I found my voice with the help of a speech therapist that I discovered the confidence to talk to just about anyone, enabling me to carve out the life—and career—I wanted for myself, one that revolves around interviewing celebrities on my podcast, Reign with Josh Smith.

Here, seven tips that helped me improve my conversation skills – and, by extension, my mental health.

Be an active listener, not a passive one

Most of us listen to what someone is saying with the intention of replying rather than truly understanding them better. As a general rule of thumb, try to spend twice as much time listening in a conversation as you do talking. Being an active listener means maintaining eye contact, focusing your mind solely on the person in front of you (never on your phone), and refraining from offering any unsolicited advice. If you feel the urge to interrupt, say something like “I see” or “I understand,” instead.

Check in with your social battery

Know what drains you and what restores you emotionally. No one can have a life-changing heart-to-heart when they’re feeling totally depleted. If your diary is chock-a-block, you owe it to yourself—and everyone else—to reschedule some things. There’s no need to make up an excuse; just say that you have too much on, and would love to meet another time. Equally, if there’s a social event that you’re particularly nervous about—say, going to a wedding alone—conserve your resources beforehand rather than going on a night out/agreeing to host a dinner party/meeting your partner’s parents for the first time. That way, you’ll have the energy to speak to everyone at the event—even the guy from uni you haven’t seen since that awkward sexual encounter 10 years ago.

Ask unexpected questions

Meeting someone for the first time? You’ll leave a far better impression if you ask something quirky instead of talking about the weather. Instead of “What have you been up to lately?”, try “What are you proudest of recently?” Little tweaks to common questions can make them feel more personal, pique someone’s interest, and cause them to dig a little deeper.

Know that difficult conversations can be some of the most rewarding

Being able to address disagreements is key, whether it involves a tricky chat with your boss or clearing the air with a friend you feel has wronged you. Setting up a time to speak in advance will give both of you a chance to prepare what you would like to say. There’s no harm in writing notes to refer back to if you get flustered. If you’re feeling anxious, it’s OK to say that you’re nervous and worried you might say the wrong thing. Make sure you both have ample time to speak, even if that means sitting in silence for a while, and never raise your voice. Remember, you’re not looking to take someone down; you’re doing this to come to a mutual understanding.

Make every space you enter feel like a club toilet at 2 a.m.

Why? Because it’s the ultimate safe space, where everyone’s liberal with compliments and reassurances. The goal when chatting should always be to make everyone feel comfortable and celebrated. Telling people that you love X, Y, or Z about them will make you both feel amazing (just steer clear of focusing on their appearance, as you never know how people feel about the way they look).

Don’t filter yourself

Mindless chatter doesn’t tend to lead to meaningful connections. I used to worry that admitting anything embarrassing or awkward would mean that people would cast me off as damaged social goods. In reality, everyone has something that they feel insecure about and think people will judge them for. Opening up about these things to each other is one of the fastest, most therapeutic ways to bond. People are drawn to authenticity like a magnet; you never have to filter your story.

Start and end strong

How you bookend a conversation is just as important as what’s said. Start by asking someone how they are—not out of habit, but from a place of genuine curiosity—keeping your body language warm and relaxed. And if you’re nervous about how to end the conversation? Go for a simple, “It’s been really great chatting with you; let’s catch up again soon.” It always leaves a positive impression.

Great Chat: Seven Lessons for Better Conversations, Deeper Connections and Improved Wellbeing by Josh Smith (Lagom) is out now

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Theory: Yoda's species are naturally incapable of speech

Probably a common theory, but might as well throw it out there. Yoda speaks differently than most. The Child doesn't speak at all, but he is able to convey complete thoughts through the Force. That we all know.

We have no idea what is typical for their species in canon (thanks for all the help, Yaddle), but what if Yoda is the aberration, having learned to speak Basic with great difficulty for the benefit of humans?

For others of his species, strong in the Force as they are, they'd have no need to verbally communicate. Communicating memories and feelings through the Force would be more than sufficient, leading the speech pathways in the motor cortex to atrophy over generations.

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Yoda's empire speech is still star wars' best force explanation.

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When Yoda gave what has come to be known as his ‘luminous beings’ speech in Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back , he managed to explain the Force better than anyone else. The Force is an omnipresent power woven through the Star Wars universe. In the expanded universe, the Force has been categorized in several ways, but the two most notable aspects explored in live-action are its light and dark sides. The Sith exploit the dark side to chase power, while the Jedi utilize the light side to protect others. While many have tried to pin down succinctly what the Force is, none have done it better than Master Yoda.

During Luke Skywalker’s training on Dagobah , Luke was given his second lesson in the Force – the first was from Obi-Wan Kenobi. When explaining that “size matters not,” Yoda says: “... my ally is the Force, and a powerful ally it is. Life creates it, makes it grow. Its energy surrounds us and binds us. Luminous beings are we, not this crude matter. You must feel the Force around you; here, between you, me, the tree, the rock, everywhere...” While a short speech, it captures the essence of the Force and exactly what director George Lucas wanted it to be.

Why Yoda's "Luminous Beings" Speech Is So Good

The Force has clear parallels to several real-world religions and understandings of our universe. It could be argued that it resonates with audiences so well because it bears the hallmarks of most of the mainstream religions, most notably Buddhism, and is accessible to all. George Lucas drew inspiration from the ying and yang in Eastern philosophy (light and dark), the Hinduism concept of Brahman energy, that unifies all; and the idea that people are more than just “crude matter” clearly comes from Buddhism. Much like religion, the Force saw users of it fracture into different factions, including Star Wars' own Force cult.

Related: Han Solo's Blaster Apparently Uses The FORCE (Seriously)

Yoda’s speech is so good because it captures all that the Force is, clearly and concisely, without ruining its mystique. He leaves the true meaning and purpose of the Force open to interpretation. He explains its omnipresence, its power and where it comes from, explaining the power of the Force and its connection to not just him, but all living things. He gives the Force weight without needing to define its boundaries too clearly. His speech is so good because it is simple and defined, but accessible to all who reach out for it, much like the Force itself.

Yoda's Speech Is Still Star Wars' Best Explanation Of The Force

There have been several other attempts by notable Star Wars characters to try and define or explain the Force. The first example of this was also Luke’s first lesson in the Force, and it came courtesy of Obi-Wan Kenobi. In Star Wars: A New Hope , ‘Ben’ Kenobi was a true hermit and thoroughly out of touch with the rest of humanity. His experiences of the Force seemed to be distant memories and his explanation of it was almost too simple, and entirely too vague. Obi-Wan said of the Force: “ It’s an energy field created by all living things and binds the galaxy together.” Clipped and shallow, it offered no insight into how philosophically important the Force is to the universe or the audience.

While Obi-Wan's description was vague, Qui-Gon Jinn’s was franchise-ruiningly clinical. Audiences were decidedly split over the existence of midi-chlorians being crowbarred into the Star Wars universe in Star Wars: The Phantom Menace . Qui-Gon strips the mystery and depth to Star Wars ' Force by explaining it through the existence of midi-chlorians, “microscopic life-forms that reside within all living cells” . While midi-chlorians are not the genesis of the Force – they are simply a conduit – their existence was entirely unnecessary and audiences didn’t require a scientific explanation for how the Force is accessed.

How Rey & Luke's Scene Compares To Yoda In Empire

In Star Wars: The Last Jedi , explanations of the Force come full circle, with Luke Skywalker himself having a go. When Luke says of the Force, “it’s the energy between all things, a tension, a balance that binds the universe together,” he is almost mirroring Obi-Wan's first lesson. He is also giving the audience a message about the Force which is open to interpretation, much like Yoda’s ‘luminous beings’ speech. It’s a parallel to religion central to the main films. Elsewhere, Andor has gone and broken Star Wars' obsession with the Force completely.

Related: Star Wars Reveals The First Time Ahsoka Used The Force

Unfortunately, Luke muddies the water with his reference to balance. A balance suggests a movement of energy, and it’s not clear whether he is referring to an internal balance, or an external one. His comment that the Force does not “belong to the Jedi” suggests an external one, but this allows Rey to dip into the pre-existent dark side almost immediately. Yoda’s message in Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back is more a message of comfort and trumps Luke’s description both in delivery and content. As such, it remains the best explanation of the Force put to film in the franchise so far.

Next: Kylo Ren's Lightsaber Had Its Own Secret Force Power

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What would happen if Biden stepped aside from the 2024 presidential race?

By Kathryn Watson

June 28, 2024 / 5:32 PM EDT / CBS News

President Biden's lackluster debate performance Thursday night, marked by a raspy voice , gaping facial expressions, rambling answers on key questions and a perceived failure to refute several lies from former President Donald Trump, has fueled concern among many Democrats in Washington and sparked some discussion about whether there's a way to replace him on the Democratic ticket in the 2024 presidential election. 

Biden campaign spokesperson Mia Ehrenberg, asked if the president would step aside after his debate performance, replied, "Absolutely not." Asked if there are conversations about Mr. Biden stepping aside, campaign spokesman Michael Tyler said, "There are no conversations about that whatsoever."

And a newly re-energized Mr. Biden showed no sign of backing away when he spoke at a campaign rally in North Carolina the following day. "I don't debate as well as I used to," he acknowledged, but added, "I know how to get things done. And I know, like millions of Americans know, when you get knocked down, you get back up."

Whether the 81-year-old presumptive Democratic nominee should be replaced is a question for Democrats. How that process would work in accordance with Democratic National Committee rules is another. 

Here's what the process could look like, according to experts and DNC rules. 

Biden would have to step aside voluntarily 

The president couldn't be forced to step down from the race, election law and process experts agree. It's something he would have to do voluntarily. Mr. Biden possesses nearly all of the delegates from the primary process and most states have already completed their primaries.

"This is all premised on Biden himself agreeing to do this," said John Fortier, a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute who studies the Electoral College process and continuity of government. 

Replacing a party nominee like Mr. Biden is "really hard and unlikely to happen," Fortier said. 

"I don't think it's going to happen because there are all sorts of reasons why it's difficult," he said. 

The timing of any replacement of a major party's nominee 

If Mr. Biden were to step aside, that would almost certainly happen "before or during the convention," Fortier said. 

Stepping aside before the Democratic convention is legally easy but politically difficult, said Derek Muller, a law professor at the University of Notre Dame who specializes in election law. 

"It's politically messy before the convention but it's not legally messy," Muller said. There is no legal impediment to his stepping aside as the presumptive Democratic nominee.

Biden would likely have significant influence on his successor if he were to step aside before the convention

If Mr. Biden were to step aside before the convention, which begins on Aug. 19 in Chicago, he would likely have significant influence on the Democratic Party's choice of who would take his place on the ticket. The most likely candidate would be Vice President Kamala Harris, Muller and Fortier agree. 

"He could negotiate of course beforehand with people to try to get a common front," Fortier said. "By far the most likely outcome is that it would go to Kamala Harris."

Delegates are loyal party people, and Fortier said he suspects they "would be able to rally the troops" around one candidate. 

"I think Harris would be the default option because she is the vice president and is the presumptive vice presidential nominee," Muller said. 

If Harris were to become the presidential nominee before the convention, she would be able to pick her VP replacement, perhaps another big-name Democrat who performed well in an open convention. 

But it wouldn't have to be Harris.

A contested convention?

At this point, the Democratic National Committee is expected to hold a virtual roll call about a week and a half before the convention, on Aug. 7, to formally nominate Mr. Biden and Harris, in order to meet a ballot certification deadline in Ohio on that date.

The convention is scheduled to begin Aug. 19 in Chicago, but an Ohio law requires that presidential candidates formally be nominated 90 days before Election Day. 

Because of the virtual roll call, "I don't know what that looks like in the event that there's going to be a contested convention," Muller said. 

If Mr. Biden did step aside and Democrats were unclear on who the nominee should be, they could decide to jettison the virtual roll call and cede Ohio to Trump, in order to give candidates a little longer to prepare their pitches for the convention.

DNC rules say delegates "elected to the national convention pledged to a presidential candidate shall in all good conscience reflect the sentiments of those who elected them."

Fortier says this means delegates must vote for Mr. Biden on the first ballot. 

"The delegates are bound on the first vote, and Biden would essentially decline or release them, and then we move onto the second round where everybody is uncommitted," he said, if Mr. Biden steps aside. 

Muller said there could be some room for interpretation, and if Democrats were to coalesce around a new candidate ahead of the convention, they might be able to vote for someone other than Mr. Biden. 

"I think there would be a strong incentive for people to not vote for Mr. Biden, but to show strength for some other candidate."

If a first ballot is inconclusive, so-called superdelegates — party leaders and elected officials in the party — could vote in subsequent ballots. And delegates would continue to vote until a nominee is secured. That could be a lengthy process, depending on how united or divided delegates are. 

If Democrats don't throw their support to one candidate, it could get messy. 

Past convention fights

Convention fights can be long and grueling. The 1924 Democratic National Convention took a record 103 ballots to nominate presidential nominee John W. Davis and vice presidential nominee Charles W. Bryan, who went on to lose in November. 

In 1968, Robert Kennedy — father of current independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. — jumped in the race late, after President Lyndon Johnson announced in late March he wouldn't seek reelection. Kennedy was on track to win more delegates than anti-war candidate Sen. Eugene McCarthy when he was gunned down just after his speech following his victory in the California primary. 

Instead of nominating an existing candidate, the Democratic Party chose then-Vice President Hubert Humphrey, Johnson's pick, at the convention in Chicago. Humphrey lost that November to Richard Nixon. 

If Democrats held a contested convention today, presidential hopefuls would go and make their pitch to the state delegations. 

But again, Fortier said replacing the top of the ticket is "really hard and unlikely to happen." 

• Democratic Party
• 2024 Elections

Kathryn Watson is a politics reporter for CBS News Digital, based in Washington, D.C.

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